Killingholme Haven Pits

This is dedicated to “Daddy” who sadly slipped away from us in the evening of November 27th. He will be sorely missed by his loving wife of over fifty years, myself and my sister and of course his two grandsons. He was the most loving father you could wish for and life will never be the same for any of us now, but we treasure all of the time we spent together and especially when we could all be together at the family home for a few days that one last time.

You will now realise that we were not on a birding holiday in the UK after twenty two years, but visiting my parents. It was emphasised to both ourselves and my sister and family that we were to do some things for ourselves during our visit and my parents enjoyed hearing about the birding that we did on day trips from their home and a few a bit further afield. When they purchased the family home in East Halton in 1973 they would have had no idea that the birding in the area would change so much in their life time or that they would be living there in retirement after working all over the world. My Dad worked at Killingholme Haven on the preliminary works for the new power station when we first moved to the area. One of the bridges that he was in charge of still stands, but the power station is now being dismantled! Grant and I lived in the family home in 1988 and 1989 when we were working and travelling in Europe whilst they lived in Kuwait, so we are familiar with the area from those days. It really has not changed a great deal other than the birding! My parents always enjoyed walks together down the lanes and across the fields in the area and there are many Public Rights of Way including the Nev Cole Way. My Mum will continue to enjoy the countryside and she has always been interested in the birds and wildlife that she sees. She is also very good at finding out on the internet what birds are being observed around the area!

Our first day at my parents’ house was mostly about spending time together as a family, but in the afternoon we walked down the lane and across the fields with my Mum while Dad slept. Eurasian Curlew were easily observed feeding in the turned fields and numerous small passerines that we had not seen for many years. It didn’t take too long for us to join Haven Road right near Killingholme Haven Pits and Mum returned to be with Dad when he awoke. We walked into the bird hide and could not believe the size of the flock of Black-tailed Godwits roosting right next to the hide on September 29th. In fact during the time we sat more and more Black-tailed Godwits poured in from the River Humber and there was an estimated flock size close to seven thousand birds.

A portion of the large flock of Black-tailed Godwits

There was one Common Redshank that was ridiculously close to the bird hide and keen to be photographed. The bird hide has been there for many years and we rarely saw anybody using it during our visit.

Common Redshank

The Black-tailed Godwits were also rather obliging and wandered close to the hide feeding and sank their heads right into the mud.

Black-tailed Godwit close to the bird hide

As time went by many of the Black-tailed Godwits would just tuck their bills under and sit out the time while they could no longer feed in the River Humber estuary.

Roosting Black-tailed Godwits from the hide

We soon realised that there were several Black-tailed Godwits wearing colour bands. This is always problematic anywhere in the world, because you need to have both of their tibia’s visible! We were able to get some of the complete combinations and have obtained the relevant banding history from the banding authorities. The first date is the banding date and location for each individual Black-tailed Godwit.

One other Black-tailed Godwit was wearing on its left tibia a red colour band and black flag and then on its right tibia an orange colour band and a red colour band. Although it had a short history it was the only time that it had been observed since banding and had crossed the River Humber!

29.09.2016 North Killingholme Haven Pits, north Lincolnshire, East England

The Killingholme Haven Pits also offer a roost for Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Little Egret and Greylag Geese, Grey Heron and many more birds. When the shorebirds are not roosting at Killingholme Haven Pits you can walk out onto the sea wall and wander along the river bank . It is an excellent surface to walk on, because it does not get muddy! There are blackberries to enjoy in September and October and numerous other birds can be observed as you wander along. We observed Ruddy Turnstones, which our youngest nephew affectionately called “Turnovers”, Dunlin, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Northern Lapwings, Common Shelducks, Long-tailed Tits, Eurasian Wrens, European Goldfinch, Greater Black-backed Gulls and Eurasian Teal to name just a few. It can be bitterly cold when the wind is blowing as we discovered over the various visits during our stay! The header photo shows the view from the sea wall looking out towards the North Sea from the south bank of the River Humber.

Sea wall and south side of the River Humber at Killingholme Haven

Feeding at low tide on the south side of the River Humber

This is an excellent place to go birding and you can read in this article about how it has changed so much over the years. Graham Catley only saw 11 Black-tailed Godwits at this location in 1969 and by 1989 there were more than 50. Nowadays there are more than 7000 during migration, which is quite possibly about 10% of the Icelandic population. Nowadays about 2500 Black-tailed Godwits overwinter in the area. As you can see from the history of the few Black-tailed Godwits that were identifiable they do wander around Europe, but also return to the same locations. It is not dissimilar to what we observe in Australia.

This has been the hardest week of my life, but my Dad would be proud that I have been able to put into words what a magnificent place this is and I obviously inherited his ability to write! This is my 327th post for 10000birds! Although I am grieving I would like you all to just turn to your loved ones and tell them you love them like I did over those last few weeks and give them a big hug.

Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!

This is a beautiful post, Clare, in honor and memory of your dad. He would have been so pleased and proud. It’s also a testament to banding birds, as each one carries so much history and information as they stand side-by-side in those huge flocks!